The lowdown on supplements, fat burners, etc.

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ninerbuff
ninerbuff Posts: 48,679 Member
in Food and Nutrition
The diet industries BIGGEST money maker is supplements and supplement programs. Popping a pill or ingesting a shake, etc. to make it easier to lose weight, gain weight, get stronger, burn fat, blah, blah, blah entices SO MANY people who are looking for the quick fix or whom are desperate to lose weight and believe this will help them.

What most people don't know is that many supplements don't have to be tested before even being marketed. A great tactic is to use a clinical study done on an ingredient that had great results, then CLAIM that their product has been "tested' because that ingredient is in their product. And the wording makes it seem legit.

90% of the supplements that are out on the market can't be determined on whether or not the material used to make it was "pure". Since a lot of companies use 3rd party manufacturers, the manufacturers only take the listing of what a seller wants in their supplement and the manufacturers replicate it. Biggest scam of them all on ingredients list is the "PROPRIETARY BLEND". That could mean anything they want to be in their product with NO DOSAGE printed in. And if you're thinking they are using "high quality" ingredients, then every product should be devoid of any unwanted trace elements/minerals/hormones etc. Unfortunately we see sports competitors suspended from competing due to ingestion for supplements that have been contaminated.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2465258/

http://www.occup-med.com/content/2/1/4

And I'm sure some of these athletes are paying high dollar for the best ones. So really where does that leave the average joe?

My main point here is that in most cases, people on here to lose weight don't need much supplementation. Protein shakes, okay. Mulitvitamin and fish oil. Fine. But when I hear people spending $150 and up on supplements for weight loss and performance, I just have to say that it's a lot of smoke and mirrors. And those "fat burners" don't burn fat at all. ALL are laced with a stimulant of some sort to "energize" you so you exercise and move around more.

You want better results? Train harder and eat correctly CONSISTENTLY. Most people fail when it comes to consistency.

Need to read more about dietary supplements, then check here:

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/DietarySupplements-HealthProfessional/

A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Replies

  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Coffee.
  • JustFindingMe
    JustFindingMe Posts: 390 Member
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    Well Said :happy:
  • trisH_7183
    trisH_7183 Posts: 1,486 Member
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    Thanks for sharing. We can never have too much info on this subject.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    You want better results? Train harder

    Or relax, and eat better.
  • kessler4130
    kessler4130 Posts: 150 Member
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    I have replaced my pre workout with.... well nothing but coffee, and get the same intensity as if I was on 2 scoops of C4. I do however take a pre work out shake of MTS whey, almond milk, and 100 grams of banana, OMG ITS GOOD.
  • Topsking2010
    Topsking2010 Posts: 2,245 Member
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    AMEN!!!!!
  • Snip8241
    Snip8241 Posts: 767 Member
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    In 2008 my husband was taking two VERY expensive supplements for weight lifting. He became very ill and had to have extensive abdominal surgery to remove two growths in his colon. After going through the agony of waiting to see if these were indeed colon cancer, the reports came back that they were masses of cells caused by an allergy.

    At the time I was working in the pathology lab where these were evaluated. I saw for myself these cells in the masses that were removed.

    Clinically my husbands labs were indicating a huge reaction to something. The clinicians, while not having proof, attributed this reaction possibly to these supplements. These products are not tested by the FDA and are not controlled. We could not pinpoint anything in my husbands diet that could have caused this except these products.

    After removal my husband recovered and has been just fine ever since. He takes no supplements except the rare protein shake with whey only. He still lifts and does competitions

    I know this is rare, but after spending 300 dollars on these products, a 100,000 dollar hospital stay is hardly worth the investment in these supplements.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,679 Member
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    In 2008 my husband was taking two VERY expensive supplements for weight lifting. He became very ill and had to have extensive abdominal surgery to remove two growths in his colon. After going through the agony of waiting to see if these were indeed colon cancer, the reports came back that they were masses of cells caused by an allergy.

    At the time I was working in the pathology lab where these were evaluated. I saw for myself these cells in the masses that were removed.

    Clinically my husbands labs were indicating a huge reaction to something. The clinicians, while not having proof, attributed this reaction possibly to these supplements. These products are not tested by the FDA and are not controlled. We could not pinpoint anything in my husbands diet that could have caused this except these products.

    After removal my husband recovered and has been just fine ever since. He takes no supplements except the rare protein shake with whey only. He still lifts and does competitions

    I know this is rare, but after spending 300 dollars on these products, a 100,000 dollar hospital stay is hardly worth the investment in these supplements.
    Probably not as rare as you think. With no FDA regulation, supplement companies can basically state whatever they want about a product before and while it's on the market (although many use the waiver "This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA.......) up until the point that FDA does investigate them. By that time, thousands of people may have used the product.
    The biggest issue is the misinformation that many of these supplement sellers pawn off as truth just to entice people to buy their product with most not having any background in physiology, biology, etc.
    Again not all supplements are useless when it comes to performance and nutrition, but even for the elite athlete, supplements haven't been shown to be the definite reason for better performance and recovery.

    A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • KseRz
    KseRz Posts: 980 Member
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    What also doesnt have to be tested? Bottled water.

    Thats right. Cousin Jethro and Cleetus can fill up gallon after gallon of bottled water from their grandpappy's garden hose, slap a mountain spring label on it and they are good to go.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHx6BX3HZJc
  • weightliftingdiva
    weightliftingdiva Posts: 522 Member
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    What also doesnt have to be tested? Bottled water.

    Thats right. Cousin Jethro and Cleetus can fill up gallon after gallon of bottled water from their grandpappy's garden hose, slap a mountain spring label on it and they are good to go.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHx6BX3HZJc

    THIS.

    I switched to a recyclable plastic water bottle that has a built in filter. I don't have any problems with tap water, but I don't like the variation in taste. The filter gives the water a more refreshing taste and saves the plastic water bottles I would have used from the landfill.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,679 Member
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    What also doesnt have to be tested? Bottled water.

    Thats right. Cousin Jethro and Cleetus can fill up gallon after gallon of bottled water from their grandpappy's garden hose, slap a mountain spring label on it and they are good to go.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHx6BX3HZJc
    What's sad is that bottling companies (Coca Cola, Pepsi, etc.) has access to municipal tap water from where they may get their bottled water from, filter it and sell it on the market. One bottle of Evian is equal to about 1,000 gallons of tap water for drinking. Just thought I'd put that up there.
    Personally I have a filter system under my kitchen tap just so the water tastes a little better. I only by bottled water when I'm at a venue unless they have FREE cups of cold water available.

    A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,679 Member
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    bump
  • benchsquad65
    benchsquad65 Posts: 147 Member
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    Don't use supplements. Prehistoric humans used to work several hours a day, run like 40 miles, skin wooly mammoths, fight cave bears, and they didn't need no "supplements" or "fat burners" and they were absolutely jacked. They just fed the body the proper foods and had the proper activity and they were fine. Imitate them, unless you enjoy wasting money on dangerous products that do nothing for you.

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